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10,000 BCE
Discovery of Farming (Agricultural Revolution)
Humans used to be hunters and gatherer, they started to settle in communities and discovered farming and domestication of animals in the fertile crescent.
People are relying on fertile land and human power to farm. -
5000 BCE
Chinese improved farming (partly)
Under the Han Dynasty, the agriculture improved (partly) because of increasing number of irrigation schemes, domestication of buffaloes to pull plows.
Around this time, rice was cultivated in southern Chine and millet in the north. -
Animals for power
Oxen and horses were used for power on famrs. -
Cotton Gin
Cotton Gin was invented by Eli Whitney. This invention contributes to the success of cotton as the Southern cash crop -
First cast-iron plow
Charles Newbold patents first cast-iron plow.
Using cast-iron plow made farming easier compared to using a wooden plow. -
Icebox Refrigerator
Thomas Moore of Maryland invented the icebox refrigerator. Moore's "refrigerator" was constructed by placing a tin box inside an oval cedar tub and filling the gaps between box and tub with ice. This made storing perishable products from the farms easier, giving them more shelflife. -
Manufacturing agricultural machinaries
John Deere and Leonard Andrus begin manufacturing steel plows which increases farmers' need for cash and encourages commercia farming -
Commercial Fertilizer
Sir John Lawes founded the commercial fertilizer industry by developing a process for making superphosphate.
Farmers aren't relying solely on fertile soil to plant -
Improved Irrigation
Improved irrigation began in Utah. This made farming possible in places that were far from water sources -
Hybrid Corn
Hybridized corn was produced. -
Mechanized and Commercialized Farming
Agriculture becomes increasingly mechanized and commercialized in the United States of America. This made farmers life easier.
(With their "new" machines, 40-50 labor-hours were only required to produce 100 bushels of wheat, compared before, to produce the same amount of wheat farmers needed 250-300 labor-hours) -
Gasoline in Farming
The first gasoline tractor was built by John Froelich -
Commercializing tractors
The first business devoted exclusively to making tractors was established -
Slice Bread
Otto Rohwedder introduced his bread-slicing machine, introducing us to slice bread -
Anhydrous Ammonia
Anhydrous Ammonia was engineered to be used as a cheap source of nitrogen, boosting yields -
Organic Chemicals in Farming
Chelates (an organic chemical) were found to help protect plants against certain metal deficiencies, when used as fertilizer. -
96% of cotton harvested mechanically
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3 labor-hours required to produced 100 bushels of wheat (with new machinery and tractors)
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Period: to
Growing Technology in farming
Farmers using satellite technology to track and plan their farming practices. -
Biotechnology in Farming
FDA grants first approval for a whole food production through biotechnology (FLAVRSAVR tomato) -
Weed and Insect resistant
The first weed and insect-resistant biotech crops-soybeans and cotton are available commercially